Various calibration systems have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,638 describes a calibration system in which a robot starts up and measures a reference component at various test points using a camera and a displacement sensor, where the reference component is located on a base body of the robot. It is possible in this way to determine changes in the length of the robotic arm that are dependent upon temperature, and subsequently compensate them.
In the case of the robot, but also in the case of other known machining machines, such as laser machining machines, the reference component does, however, constitute an interfering contour in the respective machining area, which may lead to collisions. Furthermore, it takes a lot of time and is technically complex to adjust the reference component in the correct position for the purpose of the measuring described above. It is, moreover, problematic that a collision-related deviation that is comparatively small cannot always be recognized with the human eye. Such misalignments do, however, consequently lead to erroneously manufactured components, e.g., to expensive rejects.